Grow Your Business With a Podcast – Part 2

In this episode I’m diving into the process of starting a podcast with Kristin Quiroz Bayona, podcast expert, and creator of The Podcast Accelerator,  a step-by-step course designed to fast track your podcast launch in just 30 days!

Check out Part 1 of this series, Boost Your Business With a Podcast

Listen to the Episode

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Here’s what we’re covering in the episode:

• Why business owners are flocking to podcasting (hint: it’s a client-magnet)
• How you can save HOURS each week by repurposing your episodes to create all of your marketing content – from social media to subscriber newsletters!
• The pitfalls many podcasters when getting started (and how you can totally avoid them) 

I’ll also share how I used Kristin’s strategies in The Podcast Accelerator in my own business and doubled my client list.

I turned to podcasting  as a way to avoid blogging (anyone else hate writing??) and once I’d launched the podcast had me booked solid with new clients!

If you’re considering adding podcasting to your marketing strategy but have been confused or overwhelmed by the process, check out this episode!

Meet Kristin

Double podcast host Kristin Quiroz Bayona is on a mission to help women and women of color amplify their voices and businesses.

On her show, Podcast and Amplify, Kristin shares tips for creating a podcast that will help grow your online business and interviews successful entrepreneurs for their best business advice.

Episode Transcript

Welcome everyone. I am here with Kristin Quiroz-Bayona, who is a podcasting expert who teaches business owners strategies and action steps for creating a highly engaged podcast in order to turn listeners into customers.

She hosts two of her own podcasts, Explorer In You, which is her first podcast about travel, and then her second podcast is called Podcasts and Amplify, where she shares podcasting tips and business growth strategies.

She’s the creator of the Podcast Accelerator, a course designed specifically for business owners who want to start taking advantage of the fastest growing marketing tool to help them attract and connect with potential clients in a simplified way with step-by-step instructions to get them from lost to launched in under 30 days.

Welcome Kristin.
Kristin Quiroz-Bayona: Thanks Laurie. Thanks for having me.

I am super excited because you have been such a huge help for me.
I used a lot of your strategies when I started my podcasts, both of them. So I know you have a lot of great information and tips to share with my audience. So we’re going to dive right in.

What I like to do first with my guests is have them kind of give us their origin story or the backstory of what brought them to this point. So let’s talk about your podcasting backstory.

Kristin Quiroz-Bayona: So I started my first podcast in the summer of 2020. We were in the middle of like a pandemic, as everyone knows. And then also in the middle of this huge social justice movement, which I think is still continuing and hopefully will continue to create some big changes.

So I realized two things. One was that nothing’s guaranteed through the pandemic. It’s like things that you took for granted or assumed would always be the same.

It’s not necessarily the case. So why not jump in and start something that I really had been wanting to do and putting off because I didn’t feel like it was in my wheelhouse. I didn’t feel comfortable.

And then part of the mission behind my show was to be intentional about who I brought onto my show. It’s a travel podcast and I really wanted to see more diversity and more different perspectives shared in that space. So those two kind of big events combined really helped inform like what became my first show.

And so it’s a travel podcast and I just invite on all kinds of different people to talk about travel and it really became like my passion project and I’ve been doing it for about a year now. One thing that you said was something you had really been wanting to do. Why podcasting? Why were you attracted to podcasting versus, you know, blogging or vlogging or any of these other platforms?

Kristin Quiroz-Bayona: Great question.
So I started out as a blogger and I had talked about starting my travel blog for like decades and I finally did it and I enjoyed it because it, you know, I’m a communications nerd. I have a communications background and I’ve kind of dabbled in a lot of different things. And so it brought together like my writing passion and my visuals, you know, taking photographs.

But it was really lonely. You know, it was really just me typing things out and then putting it out into the world and not always getting a lot of feedback or interaction. And I was actually an avid podcast listener.

I just really love to learn and I feel like podcasting, it makes it so easy to do that. So I thought, well, why I think I want to try and start a podcast because that will give me the opportunity to speak to other fellow travelers, which I was really kind of itching to do. I don’t know if I’m sure you’ve experienced this when you when you meet other like minded people or other people who have a passion similar to you and you just geek out on it.

Like that’s the best forty five minute conversation I think you can have. So I agree when it’s and especially after like the you know, with the pandemic and the isolation and being able to like regularly have conversations real time with people and not just on social media and not just DMs or texts or things like that. But you can actually like face to face, you know, even though a lot I think a lot of us have got some Zoom fatigue, but this is a little bit different because it’s stuff you want to talk about and people you want to talk to.

Exactly. It’s not like a business meeting or, you know, something that you’re not really jazzed about being in Zoom about. Kristin, did you get my agenda? Or my TPS report.

The TPS report! yes! No, right. Like it’s it’s it’s fun.

Right. So and is that like one of the things that you wanted to start a podcast and you did. And then were you just were you surprised at how much fun it was because I had a good idea that I would enjoy it. But as far as like how much fun it is, yeah, it surpassed my expectations. And I know that, you know, you found the same thing.

I think, you know, being an introvert, I was very uncomfortable at first, you know, putting myself out there in terms of like, I’m the intro voice and I’m, you know, the face of this in the, you know, marketing content. But in terms of being able to really connect with people on a meaningful level and have these really great conversations like that is really in the introverts wheelhouse. Right.

Like that’s where we kind of shine is like having really honest, authentic conversations. And so I think that really contributes to to me liking this medium, really leaning into it and just having so much fun with it. I read one of your blog posts about introverts, why podcasting is great for introverts.

And I was reading and I should have, you know, made some notes to put here. But I just nodded along with the whole thing and I was like, yes, absolutely. Now, I’m what is known as an extroverted introvert, which means I like talking to new people.

I like talking to like all the things I like to talk to people. I don’t like small talk. I don’t like like nonsense.

Just jibber jabber. I like to actually talk and have meaningful conversations with people who are, you know, interested in the same topics. And we can talk about like really in depth things until I don’t.

And then I just want to and then it kind of, you know, you need to recharge. And then I need to not talk to anybody for like three days. But it’s it’s fun and it’s really energizing to to have this kind of what’s the word outlet where you can, you know, just get all your ideas out there and connect with people and share those connections with the rest of the world.

Yeah, absolutely. And I think I wrote about to how, you know, you mentioned that you kind of are like to talk to people and then you don’t. Right.

And so that’s kind of where a lot of introverts, you know, that’s how they operate, too. And a lot of podcasting, if you think about it, the percentage that you’re talking to people versus like behind the scenes, doing things that are like writing or researching or editing, like that’s alone time. So it’s really a nice balance.

Right. Like you get the meaningful conversation. And then you have the space to process and reflect and create that I think is really valuable for introverts that we like to have that time.

So we’re not bothered by like, oh, no, I’m going to have to do all this, like by myself work, you know, it’s like, oh, we can transition between the two. Yes, absolutely. And one thing that I would add on there is that you also get to review what you said.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll sometimes have conversations with people and I’m like, man, did I sound like did I just talk about like nonsense? What did I say? What was I even talking about? Did I sound like an idiot? So then I can actually record the conversations and listen back and go, oh, yeah, that was dumb. So I get to edit out of the parts, edit, edit, edit, edit. And nobody has to know, you know, what I said in the moment.

And I come out looking smart, but, you know, it’s nice to have that time to, like you said, reflect and read read. What did you say? Yeah, sort of recharge. Recharge is the word that you used.

I like that. But have all that kind of alone time where you’re like doing the work for the podcast, which is necessary for us introverts to kind of like come back to normal, like recalibrate in a way recalibrate. Perfect.

That’s exactly how I would describe it. And again, we get to kind of control how much we’re talking to people. Like if you just want to have quick 15 minute interviews, you can do that.

If you want to have an hour long, if you want to have a really long, you know, I wouldn’t an hour long is probably a long time. But, you know, if you want to have a really in depth conversation, you get to control how much time you’re spending talking to people. Yeah, there’s so much flexibility in it and not even just for introverts, but just in general, you know, you can really create a show that works for you and like represents your voice.

You know, in a way that’s like, oh, this is me. This is another representation of me. And it could be, like you said, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 60 minutes.

I’ve heard of two hour podcast, but I’ve yet to stumble upon one myself. But someone’s told me there’s a two hour podcast out there. And to me, that just sounds insane.

But, you know, to each their own. I’m trying to think of something that I would want to listen to for two hours. Nothing, nothing is coming to mind now.

No, but you know what? I’m not everyone. So there must be a demographic that that’s that’s perfect for whom that’s perfect. Sorry.

So let’s now talk about the logistics. So when you were starting your podcast, getting up and running, what are some of the obstacles that you faced when you were starting out your podcast that made it a little bit of a challenge? Oh, gosh, like just not knowing what I was doing. I think I read somewhere that going back to the introverts that we do tend to have like perfectionist qualities.

I’m not sure if that’s don’t quote me on that, but I just quoted yourself. I just put it myself. Too late now.

Too late. It’s in it’s in the episode. We’re talking about editing.

Delete. So I think I know I came across that sort of perfectionism when I was creating it and thinking about how are other people going to perceive it? And that was definitely sort of a mindset thing I needed to get over of like, I don’t know what I’m doing, but I’m going to do it anyway, and it’s going to be OK. Instead of like, I don’t know what I’m doing.

This has to be perfect and spending hours and hours doing it, which I have to say with editing, I think on one episode, I think it was only like four to five minutes long when I first started out. I spent like four hours editing it. And I think that’s a normal like newbie experience.

You know, you really want to make sure that what you’re putting out there sounds like really great, really professional and solid. And then you learn over time, no one’s paying that close of attention and actually having the little lips and verbal tics that just makes it sound more conversational. So I think from a mindset point of view, that’s something that I it was an obstacle for me having to overcome that.

And then just not having the knowledge around it. And I had to search so many different like my Google searches were just all over the place. All my windows were open, like just trying to find the information.

It’s out there, but there’s a lot of it. And it took me a lot of time that I think, oh, I could have could have saved time on this if I didn’t have to go to a million different places. But we all know how that is when we get sucked into the Google rabbit hole and the Google rabbit hole, yes, of of infinite education.

Like it’s especially with marketing, I feel like there’s it’s one of those topics that there’s it just it goes on forever. And that’s why it’s a perfectionist like dream and or nightmare at the same time, because one, it gives them the excuse to learn forever and not do anything. Right.

Because a lot of times with perfectionism, I’m using that in quotes. It’s we’re looking we’re creating the obstacles. We’re creating reasons not to do things because we’re scared.

But it also gives us, you know, infinite things to learn about this. It never ends. So we can just keep going on and on.

There’s always something new to learn. Just when you think you like the mastered something, guess what? Now we now we now there’s a new thing and now we got to learn that. And it’s just it’s kind of a double edged sword there.

So so you had some logistical obstacles. You had some mindset obstacles. And to go back to what you said about in the beginning, where you spent hours editing that 45 minute episode, I think I did the same thing.

And you’re like, is it perfect? How’s it going to sound? And now did you immediately, when you launched, were you like, hey, everybody, look at me, I have a podcast and listen to my episode and put it out there immediately? I did after I recorded a few. I was just kind of like all in. I was like, OK, well, you can’t just sort of soft launch this, which is what I’d wanted to do, because that felt very comfortable.

But I had already had some of that practice. So being comfortable, being uncomfortable that I. Just decided to like, let’s launch it, let’s put it out there and then, you know, turn off your phone alerts in case someone, you know, your Instagram alerts just in case someone says something. But, you know, everyone was really positive about it.

And I think I knew that I just had to like just go all in and put it out there. And that’s that is what I would recommend to people to do is like, you know, you spend all this time creating this thing and you probably really believe in it. So when you get to that point of like, otherwise you wouldn’t have spent that time and energy.

And when you get to the point of like putting it out there, just go in and put it out there and you will be OK. Like it’s it’s it’s going to be OK. And I kind of wish I had someone to like hold my hand through it.

But I had to be a big girl and do it on my own. OK, so is this where I tell you that I kind of like snuck it out there and was just like secretly launching like my podcast and putting my episodes out there and sharing it in places where I didn’t think people who knew me would hear it. Right.

Because I was not sure. I was like, I think this is out of character for I think the people who know me in like real life don’t see this as a thing that I would do. So I I was kind of like nervous about it being.

I guess the reaction. So I was like, let me let me see. Let me first see if I want to do this.

I’ll get a few episodes in. And then if I decide I like it and this is happening and I just need to like, you know, share it, share it with the world and come out as a podcaster, then then that’s what I got to do. But I definitely like tiptoed in and and made sure that it was something I wanted to do.

And I think that’s OK. It’s 100 percent OK. And I think, you know, just like we talked about podcasting in general, not kind of keeping you to certain roles, you know, how it is a medium that’s like open to interpretation, make it however you want.

I think launching can be however you want. I don’t think there’s necessarily there’s a right way for you to do it. There’s a right way for me to do it.

So that’s what I think is it’s if you’re comfortable just putting it out there. Great. If you want to baby step it in, which is totally what I would have done.

That’s my natural inclination. But I had to like really like push myself to do the other thing and do sort of opposite of what I was naturally inclined to do. But I was I want to be honest and say like I was going through a intentional do things to be uncomfortable.

Like that was my journey at that time. And I had like I think at the time I did have a coach and I had support. So that’s the thing I want to remind people, too, is like you have to do what feels good for you and feels right for you.

And if you are pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, it’s a little bit of a side note, like you always want to make sure you have support behind that because it is tough to do those things. So if it’s like a hype squad like you talk about or I have coined the phrase hype squad. I may have stolen that from somewhere.

I don’t I actually don’t know. I may I may have stolen it. I’m not sure.

I can’t remember. I’m at that age where I don’t remember stuff anymore. I like it.

I love it. Or you just have, you know, like a partner or friends that support you. You know, when you’re pushing yourself to like do things that are outside of your comfort zone, that’s an important thing.

And, you know, if you I just think it’s everyone does things their own way and that’s perfectly OK. OK, so we talked about your obstacles. Now, what can I was this was this tied to your business? Was this podcast specific for your business? Did you have a business that was around travel? So I had intended to have a business that was around travel, but I was still kind of figuring it out.

And I was listening to a lot of podcasts around entrepreneurship. And I knew it was something that I wanted to do and I wanted more freedom and flexibility, but I wasn’t sure what. So I just kind of kept leaning into things, you know, and trying things and doing things.

And so after I launched my podcast in the summer in the fall, I think it was November. I decided to create a course around helping others to start their podcast because I just felt like, oh, this is such a great resource for businesses to have. It’s great for content marketing.

So I created that course. I gave myself 30 days to create the course, which is funny because I also gave myself 30 days to launch my podcast. So apparently I like 30 other things.

It’s a theme. It seems to be. So I created the course and then I launched it in the beginning of March of this year, 2021.

Let’s talk a little bit about, like, what are the benefits of having a podcast? Yeah, I think for businesses, entrepreneurs, I think it’s a great content marketing tool. I think it actually can save you a ton of time because you’re starting with the podcast and then you can repurpose that content into blog posts or social media posts or emails to your email list.

If you record the video as well, you could throw it up on YouTube and just get a different kind of audience and algorithm working for you.

So when you start with something as powerful as a podcast, but it really can work across your business and you’re giving people different ways to engage with you. Some people want to read, some people want to listen to you, some people want to watch you. So it just creates all those touch points that you can have with your potential customers and listeners.

So you can take a podcast and you can basically turn this into your entire content marketing strategy. You can use this on all these different platforms. It can be your emails, it can be your social media content.

You can put it on Pinterest. You can do YouTube and take advantage of those search engines and the keyword searches that happen there. But let’s talk a little bit like maybe some less obvious benefits of podcasting in terms of it helps you gain confidence.

I know I have definitely seen a big difference in how I approach my business just in starting my podcast. Like my confidence has grown a ton in what I offer and how I’m helping my clients. Yeah, I think it helps you hone in on your voice and your message because you’re putting together these topics that you’re thinking about.

How is this going to help my listener and my potential customer? What’s going to resonate with them? How am I going to be a super valuable resource? And when you’re writing like scripts for a solo show or you’re researching, who am I going to have on my show? I think it helps you get really clear on what is my message?

How am I trying to help people? And that can just only benefit your business because you have a clear messaging around what you do and how you help people. But for me, I know like also, as we mentioned before, being an introvert and hating to be the center of attention and raise my hand and I had a little bit of experience in my corporate life. You know, I forced myself to do more presentations, but public speaking was never comfortable for me.

And since I started podcasting, I’ve just gotten so much more comfortable speaking to people, speaking about things that I’m really passionate about and just having that practice. It’s really opened up a lot of opportunities for me. And I’ve done things that I never really thought I would do.

Like I’ve done live interviews. I’ve been on other people’s podcasts, which is a very different experience from being the host of one. It sure is.

Yeah, it’s like, oh, control issues coming up. But, you know, I’ve done collaborations. So just giving that getting that confidence around speaking about, you know, my business and sharing my knowledge has all really stemmed from having this podcast and this platform.

I want to tack on a couple of things that I’ve noticed and just observed in other people having podcasts and having my own that having a podcast like hosting your own really sets you apart and it establishes you as an expert in your field. Yes. And it kind of makes you it expands your network, right? Because now you’re looking for opportunities for podcast guests.

And when you’re seeing opportunities to connect with people, whereas before you didn’t really have a reason to connect with people. We’re like, I really want to make I want to really want to get this person in my network, but it’s weird. I don’t just say, hey, be in my hype squad, like join my club.

But now you can say, hey, you know what? I really, you know, I love what your your brand is about or what your business is about. Can we collaborate on a podcast interview? And can you come be a guest on my podcast? I would love to share this with my audience. It gives you an excuse to like talk to people if and, you know, if you need one.

Sometimes sometimes I don’t even need one. But it does it does help to kind of have that in the other thing. Like you said, it helps you to kind of reinforce your messaging or refine your messaging, because the more you talk about it, the more you start picking up on the language that your audience resonates with.

And, you know, when you get comments on your podcast or you get feedback, that also helps with, you know, the language that you can then use in your marketing for your for your products and services. And that kind of information is invaluable. Yeah, that’s like the gold, right? Is like hearing your customers’ pain points in their language is just so so powerful.

And I agree with you. The networking, I underestimated that. Like not only did I underestimate how fun it would be, but I I just kind of didn’t really click until I started reaching out to people.

And it’s like, wow, my network is expanding like across the globe, literally. Like I’m talking to people from all walks of life, all around the world. And we’re able to more.

It’s easier to connect through, hey, this podcast, because most people want an opportunity to be on a podcast. Like you’re not really going to get. I haven’t gotten a lot of no’s.

I’ve only gotten like, oh, yes, I’d love to to do that. Or it’s on my bucket. I had someone tell me it’s on their bucket list.

And it’s like, how fun to be part of someone’s bucket list making that happen. Not only have I never gotten a no, I have more yeses than I know what to do with. I have enough guests lined up for like the next year.

I don’t even know. I’m a little overwhelmed at the response of like how much people. Oh, that was the other thing.

One of the other benefits is the visibility. So getting eyeballs and getting ears, you know, on your content into your world, into your email list, like just growing that it makes it so much easier. Yeah, because you’re sharing their audiences, right? If you have an interview platform and that’s why I think for businesses, I would encourage interview platform other than a solo show.

I’m actually starting a show where it’s doing both. But I think having people on as guests is just too much of a. Wasted opportunity, like you don’t do that. It’s just it’s so powerful.

And yeah, it’s just this great way to be able to really connect with people because it’s one thing to network. And I think we all think of networking as like, you know, back in the day when we could see people in person, it was didn’t always feel great, you know, and this is the way of networking that feels like I guess more I hate to use the word authentic, but I guess genuine because because you’re really are creating a relationship with someone.

I mean, when you talk to them about being on your show and then you have the opportunity to have them on and learn their story and you know what makes them tick and then share that.

I mean, that’s that’s a really big, great connection. And you can only just sort of grow that and make a lot out of it. Right.

And I hate to use the word leverage. I don’t mean that in like a gross way. But like you can, you know, use help.

That really ship can help you down the line. Absolutely. I mean, that’s pretty much the point of networking is, you know, you’re helping others, they’re helping you.

That’s that’s what business is about. One thing I was going to say organic, like it’s a more organic way to like develop a relationship, because let’s like like you said back in the day when you could go and go to a networking event, you know, the awkward business card swap and like what do you do and what do you do? And it’s just so weird, like you. Yeah, like you couldn’t go to a networking event and just walk up to somebody and be like, tell me your backstory.

How did you get here? Why did you start a like you can’t I mean, you could, but you’d be weird. You’d be the weird guy, right? And nobody would talk to you. But it’s totally normal to to get on a have somebody on a podcast and just ask them like all kinds of like, you know, just to be personal question.

And this is like why I love it, because I’m just naturally nosy. So I would be the person at the at the networking event that nobody wants to talk to, because I’m weird. I’m asking all kinds of weird questions.

But here it’s totally like legit, like everyone’s OK. It’s expected, right? They’re like, please ask me about my backstory. And I’m like, great, I would love to.

OK, so we talked about like, so the benefits, the visibility, the refining your messaging, growing your network. One other thing is the touch points in your client’s sales journey. I think the number is like seven to 10 touch points.

People need to like hear from you, see you seven to 10 times before they’ll feel comfortable buying from you. But if you can get in front of them, either visually or like they can hear you, it speeds up that process. Like they feel like they know you when they listen to you on a podcast.

You’re not just like words on a paper. They hear your voice. They they get to know like your accent or your, you know, your words that you use all the time.

Yeah, I think you’re right.